Simultaneous messaging system and method

ABSTRACT

At least one of the embodiments described herein relate generally to a method of communicating an engagement to a plurality of active mobile devices, wherein each active mobile device is associated with an active user. The method may include providing at least one communication socket to each of the active mobile devices; receiving location data from those devices, information related to an engagement. In response to determining the location of the engagement, a first notification is provided to nearby active mobile devices to determine the corresponding active user&#39;s availability. In response to confirming the engagement a second notification is sent to the nearby active mobile devices to confirm the corresponding active user&#39;s availability. An active user is selected among the confirmed available active users and a third notification is provided with the selection result.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/651,393 filed on Jul. 17, 2017 entitled “SIMULTANEOUS MESSAGINGSYSTEM AND METHOD”, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/182,029 filed on Jun. 14, 2016 entitled “SIMULTANEOUSMESSAGING SYSTEM AND METHOD” (which has since issued as U.S. Pat. No.9,756,492 issued on Sep. 5, 2017). The complete disclosure of each ofU.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 15/182,029 and 15/651,393 isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The embodiments described herein relate to systems and methods relatedto distributing notifications and in particular to a plurality ofrecipients.

INTRODUCTION

Generally, consumers that desire certain products and services may seekout vendors or information through a number of sources including word ofmouth, printed advertising via publications such as the YellowPages™ ornewspaper classifieds, and the Internet. In general, a significantamount of time may pass between the consumer's initial research and theconsumer obtaining the product or service. A portion of this delay maybe the result of the consumer spending too much time researching due tolack of knowledge, the inability to identify a suitable product orservice as a result of too many choices, or delays associated withfinding someone knowledgeable for assistance (e.g. the person withknowledge is not available to scheduling issues). Therefore, it isdesirable to reduce this delay so as to enable consumers to quicklyobtain information or products they desire, and for service providersand merchants to have a way to quickly identify consumers who desiretheir specific products and services so as to help increase thelikelihood of a successful sale.

SUMMARY

The embodiments described herein provide in one aspect, a method ofcommunicating an engagement to a plurality of active mobile devices,wherein each active mobile device is associated with an active user, themethod comprising providing at least one data communication socket foreach active mobile device in the plurality of active mobile devices;receiving a plurality of location data streams, wherein each locationdata stream comprises location data corresponding to a physical locationof each active mobile device in the plurality of active mobile devices,and wherein the location data is communicated via a first datacommunication socket in the at least one data communication socket; andreceiving information corresponding to the engagement, the informationcontaining at least an engagement location.

The method further comprises in response to determining the engagementlocation i) identifying at least one nearby active mobile device,wherein the identifying comprises evaluating the physical location ofeach active mobile device in the plurality of active mobile devicesrelative to the engagement location; ii) providing a first notificationregarding the engagement to each of the at least one nearby activemobile device; and iii) receiving a plurality of first responsesresponding to the first notification from each of the at least onenearby active mobile device, wherein the first response is communicatedvia a second data communication socket in the at least one datacommunication socket.

The method further comprises in response to determining that theengagement has been confirmed i) providing a second notification to eachof the at least one nearby active device regarding the confirmedengagement; and ii) receiving a plurality of second responses respondingto the second notification from each of the at least one nearby activemobile device, wherein the second response is communicated via thesecond communication socket in the at least one data communicationsocket; selecting a selected active user to participate in the confirmedengagement, wherein the selected active user is associated with aselected nearby active mobile device in the at least one nearby activemobile device; and providing a third notification to the selected nearbyactive mobile device and the at least one nearby active mobile devicethat is not the selected nearby active mobile device regarding theselection result.

The embodiments described herein provide in another aspect, a device forcommunicating an engagement to a plurality of active mobile devices,wherein each active mobile device is associated with an active user, thesystem comprising: a communication interface; a non-transitory memory;at least one computer processor, wherein the at least one computerprocessor is configured to execute instructions stored on thenon-transitory memory to: establish, at the communication interface, atleast one data communication socket for each active mobile device in theplurality of active mobile devices; receive, at the communicationinterface, a plurality of location data streams, wherein each locationdata stream comprises location data corresponding to a physical locationof each active mobile device in the plurality of active mobile devices,and wherein the location data is communicated via a first datacommunication socket in the at least one data communication socket; andreceive, at the communication interface, data corresponding to theengagement, the data containing at least an engagement location.

The at least one processor is further configured to execute instructionsstored in the non-transitory memory to, in response to determining theengagement location, i) identify at least one nearby active mobiledevice, wherein the identification comprises evaluating the physicallocation of each active mobile device in the plurality of active mobiledevices relative to the engagement location; ii) transmit, through thecommunication interface, a first notification regarding the engagementto each of the at least one nearby active mobile device; and iii)receive, at the communication interface, a plurality of first responsesresponding to the first notification from each of the at least onenearby active mobile device, wherein the first response is communicatedvia a second data communication socket in the at least one datacommunication socket.

The at least one processor is further configured to execute instructionsstored in the non-transitory memory to, in response to determining thatthe engagement has been confirmed, i) transmit, through thecommunication interface, a second notification to each of the at leastone nearby active device regarding the confirmed engagement; and ii)receive a plurality of second responses responding to the secondnotification from each of the at least one nearby active mobile device,wherein the second response is communicated via the second communicationsocket in the at least one data communication socket; select a selectedactive user to participate in the confirmed engagement, wherein theselected active user is associated with a selected nearby active mobiledevice in the at least one nearby active mobile device; and transmit,through the communication interface, a third notification to theselected nearby active mobile device and the at least one nearby activemobile device that is not the selected nearby active mobile deviceregarding the selection result.

The embodiments described herein provide in yet another aspect, a systemfor establishing an engagement between a client and an active agent, thesystem comprising a communication network; a plurality of clientdevices, each client device configured to communicate client informationto a messaging system over the communication network; a plurality ofactive mobile devices, each active mobile device configured tocommunicate with the messaging system over the communication network;and a messaging system for communicating an engagement to the pluralityof active mobile devices over the communication network, wherein eachactive mobile device is associated with an active user, the messagingsystem comprising a communication interface; a non-transitory memory; atleast one computer processor, wherein the at least one computerprocessor is configured to execute instructions stored on thenon-transitory memory to establish, at the communication interface, atleast one data communication socket for each active mobile device in theplurality of active mobile devices; receive, at the communicationinterface, a plurality of location data streams, wherein each locationdata stream comprises location data corresponding to a physical locationof each active mobile device in the plurality of active mobile devices,and wherein the location data is communicated via a first datacommunication socket in the at least one data communication socket; andreceive, at the communication interface, data corresponding to theengagement, the data containing at least an engagement location.

The at least one processor of the messaging system is further configuredto execute instructions stored in the non-transitory memory to, inresponse to determining the engagement location, i) identify at leastone nearby active mobile device, wherein the identification comprisesevaluating the physical location of each active mobile device in theplurality of active mobile devices relative to the engagement location;ii) transmit, through the communication interface, a first notificationregarding the engagement to each of the at least one nearby activemobile device; and iii) receive, at the communication interface, aplurality of first responses responding to the first notification fromeach of the at least one nearby active mobile device, wherein the firstresponse is communicated via a second data communication socket in theat least one data communication socket.

The at least one processor of the messaging system is further configuredto execute instructions stored in the non-transitory memory to, inresponse to determining that the engagement has been confirmed, i)transmit, through the communication interface, a second notification toeach of the at least one nearby active device regarding the confirmedengagement; and ii) receive a plurality of second responses respondingto the second notification from each of the at least one nearby activemobile device, wherein the second response is communicated via thesecond communication socket in the at least one data communicationsocket; select a selected active user to participate in the confirmedengagement, wherein the selected active user is associated with aselected nearby active mobile device in the at least one nearby activemobile device; and transmit, through the communication interface, athird notification to the selected nearby active mobile device and theat least one nearby active mobile device that is not the selected nearbyactive mobile device regarding the selection result. Further aspects andadvantages of the embodiments described herein will appear from thefollowing description taken together with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the embodiments described herein and toshow more clearly how they may be carried into effect, reference willnow be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings whichshow at least one exemplary embodiment, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a messagingsystem used for communication with agent devices and client devices;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating the data flow within themessaging system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2B is a screen shot of a user interface of the agent device of FIG.2A;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the steps to establish a client-agentengagement within the messaging system of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4A-4E are screen shots of an exemplary user interface of theclient device of FIG. 2A for various steps described in the flowchart ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the steps to establish voicecommunication within the messaging system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an image of a user interface for self-directed engagementsetting within the messaging system of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the steps for self-directedengagement setting within the messaging system of FIG. 1.

The skilled person in the art will understand that the drawings,described below, are for illustration purposes only. The drawings arenot intended to limit the scope of the applicants' teachings in any way.Also, it will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity ofillustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily beendrawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements maybe exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, whereconsidered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among thefigures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.

DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

It will be appreciated that numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodimentsdescribed herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinaryskill in the art that the embodiments described herein may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods,procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not toobscure the embodiments described herein. Furthermore, this descriptionis not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodimentsdescribed herein in any way, but rather as merely describing theimplementation of the various embodiments described herein.

The embodiments of the systems and methods described herein may beimplemented in hardware or software, or a combination of both. However,preferably, these embodiments are implemented in computer programsexecuting on programmable computers each comprising at least oneprocessor module (e.g., a microprocessor), a data storage system(including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), atleast one input device, and at least one output device. For example andwithout limitation, the programmable computers (referred to below ascomputing devices) may be a personal computer, laptop, personal dataassistant, cellular telephone, smart-phone device, tablet computer,and/or wireless device. Program code is applied to input data to performthe functions described herein and generate output information. Theoutput information is applied to one or more output devices, in knownfashion.

Each program is preferably implemented in a high level procedural orobject oriented programming and/or scripting language to communicatewith a computer system. However, the programs can be implemented inassembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language maybe a compiled or interpreted language. Each such computer program ispreferably stored on a storage media or a device (e.g. ROM or magneticdiskette) readable by a general or special purpose programmablecomputer, for configuring and operating the computer when the storagemedia or device is read by the computer to perform the proceduresdescribed herein. The subject system may also be considered to beimplemented as a computer-readable storage medium, configured with acomputer program, where the storage medium so configured causes acomputer to operate in a specific and predefined manner to perform thefunctions described herein.

Furthermore, the processes and methods of the described embodiments arecapable of being distributed in a computer program product comprising acomputer readable medium that bears computer usable instructions for oneor more processors. The medium can be provided in various forms,including one or more diskettes, compact disks, tapes, chips, wirelinetransmissions, satellite transmissions, internet transmission ordownloadings, magnetic and electronic storage media, digital and analogsignals, and the like. The computer useable instructions can also be invarious forms, including compiled and non-compiled code.

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,where considered appropriate, reference numerals can be repeated amongthe figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.

The various embodiments described herein generally relate to methods andsystems for timely communication of information related to an engagementto users of mobile devices over a communication medium such as acommunication network. The mobile device users may be dispersed across ageographic region, for example, in different areas across a city, stateor province, or even across national borders.

For the purposes of this disclosure, an engagement may constitute aface-to-face meeting or appointment between two parties, an agent and aclient, in which the purpose of the meeting may be for, but not limitedto, the provision of a service, sharing of information, purchase/sale ofa product or evaluation/estimation of potential fees for the provisionof a service (e.g. an agent may review photos of a plumbing issue takenby the client to estimate potential fees before heading out to servicethe problem on-site). For the remainder of this disclosure, the terms“client” and “agent” may be used to refer to the party requesting theservice or information, and the party providing the service orinformation, respectively. For example, the agent may be arepresentative of an insurance broker and the client may be a consumerinterested in purchasing insurance coverage. An engagement may thus be aface-to-face discussion between the insurance agent and the client todiscuss the various types of insurance policies that may be available.For the client, the discussion may result in the agent selling theclient one or more insurance products, or alternatively, the clientobtaining useful information for additional analysis and decisionmaking. In other cases, the engagement may be the provision of aservice, so that the agent may be a service provider such as a plumber,locksmith, electrician or contractor.

Generally, a client seeking services or product information may berequired to locate an agent through directories such as the localYellowPages® directory, local classifieds or through an Internet query.Having identified a number of agents based on the information available,the client may then be required to contact the agent to make an inquiry.Sometimes, the first agent that the client contacts may be busy. Atother times, the agent contacted may not be qualified to provide theinformation or services desired. In yet other times, the client mayrequire several rounds of correspondence, for example, by email or phonecalls to arrange an engagement. The process may further be delayed ifthe email system of the client or the agent has erroneously redirectedcorrespondence into the “spam” or “junk” folder of the email inboxreceived from agent or the client, respectively. In other words theclient may be required to make several inquiries before an appropriateagent is located. Furthermore even when an agent is located and anengagement has been set up, the date and time of engagement may not befor a number of hours or even a number of days, depending on the agent'savailability. As such, a significant amount of time may be spent onseeking out assistance with respect to the product and services ofinterest to the client.

With respect to client-agent engagements, it is generally desirable,from a client's perspective, to obtain the services of an agent as soonas possible, particularly if the matter is urgent (e.g. a floodedbasement). From the agent's perspective, meeting with a client earlieron or participating in the decision making process at the early stages,especially if the engagement involves the sale of products, may increasethe likelihood of a successful transaction. With this in mind, anagent's mobile communication device may be used to facilitate theestablishment of an engagement between an agent and a client in a moretimely and efficient manner. As discussed in greater detail below,geo-location technologies coupled with low-latency communication may beused to distribute leads to the one or more agents near a client viatheir mobile communication devices regarding possible client engagement.The agents may then respond to the lead via their mobile devices if theyare interested in pursuing the engagement. As will be apparent in thediscussion below, distribution of leads in this manner may significantlyreduce the time between an initial client inquiry and an actualface-to-face meeting between an agent and a client.

For the purpose of this disclosure and to enhance understanding of thevarious embodiments, the examples provided will be given in the contextof a client seeking to purchase insurance through an insurance broker.However, it would be understood that the use of an insurance broker isby example only and is not intended to limit the applications of theinventive concept in any way.

Referring now to FIG. 1, shown therein is a block diagram 100illustrating an exemplary embodiment of agent devices 140 a and 140 band client devices 160 a and 160 b in communication with a messagingsystem 120 for establishing client-agent engagements. As illustrated inFIG. 1, a plurality of agent devices 140 a and 140 b (e.g. representingn devices, agent device 1 140 a through agent device N 140 b), clientdevice 160 a and 160 b (e.g. representing n devices, client device 1 160a through client device N 160 b) are in communication with messagingsystem 120 over a communication network 150. For ease of exposition, oneof the agent devices 140 a and 140 b and one of the client devices 160 aand 160 b is described. However, it will be understood that one or moreof such devices can communicate with the messaging system 120 and/orwith other devices over the communication network 150 at any given time.It will be further understood that, for the present disclosure,reference to agent device N 140 b and client device N 160 b may be usedto denote the “n^(th)” device in a group of devices of a given type.

Network 150 may be any network capable of carrying data, including theInternet, Ethernet, plain old telephone service (POTS) line, publicswitch telephone network (PSTN), integrated services digital network(ISDN), digital subscriber line (DSL), coaxial cable, fiber optics,satellite, mobile, wireless (e.g. Wi-Fi, WiMAX), SS7 signaling network,fixed line, local area network, wide area network, and others, includingany combination of these, capable of interfacing with, and enablingelectronic communication between, the messaging system 120, the agentdevices 140 a and 140 b, and client devices 160 a and 160 b.

Messaging system 120 may be operated by an entity such as the insurancebroker to receive inquiries from clients and to provide notifications toagents regarding potential engagements. The messaging system 120 maycomprise a data server 122, an application server 124 and a CRM (clientrelationship manager) 126. Client inquiries made to the broker forinformation regarding insurance products, which will be described inmore detail below, may be provided to the CRM 126 so that a record ofthe interaction may be made. Client information provided to the CRM 126may then be stored in the data server 122. The application server 124may be used to coordinate the flow of data provided to the CRM and dataserver 122. The application server may further be used to coordinate theflow of data and provide communication between agent devices such asagent device N 140 b and the messaging system 120. In yet otherinstances, the application server 124 may provide communication betweenclient device N 140 b, the messaging system 120 and other devices (notshown).

Agent device N 140 b may be any device capable of sending and receivingdata from the communication network 150 to communicate with themessaging system 120 or other devices connected to the communicationnetwork 150. In some embodiments, the agent device N 140 b may comprisean application module 142 b, communication module 144 b, deviceprocessing module 146 b and storage module 148 b. The application module142 b may be a software application stored in the storage module 148 bthat is executed by the device processing module 146 b to providefunctionality that facilitates the establishment of client-agentengagements. For example, the application module 142 b may be configuredto receive, via the communication module 144 b notifications from themessaging system 120 regarding potential engagements.

The communication module 144 b may be enabled to operate with varioustypes of communication interfaces, including, but not limited to,serial, parallel, Bluetooth, WiFi, cellular (EDGE, 3G, 4G, HSPA, or LTE)and USB, as well as various known protocols including, but not limitedto, TCP, UDP, HTTP, HTTPS and UDP. In some embodiments, the storagemodule 148 b may further be used to save user specific information suchas login-credentials to access the messaging system 120 and thenotifications related to potential engagements if the agent using theagent device N 140 b is unable to immediately review the notification.It would be understood that agent device N 140 b may be any computingdevice capable of network communication. For example, and withoutlimitation, agent device N 140 b can be a personal computer, laptop,personal data assistant, cellular telephone, smart-phone device, tabletcomputer, and/or wireless device.

In some embodiments, the communication module 144 b may be furtherconfigured to access resources that provide location services andlocation data, including GPS, Assisted GPS, GLONASS, Cell Tower ID,Wi-Fi positioning system and the like. The ability of the communicationmodule 144 b to access location services and location data may be usefulfor active agents that move between engagements from one location toanother over time. Location data may be provided to the messaging system120 on a regular basis to keep the messaging system 120 updated withrespect to the whereabouts of those active agents. In return, themessaging system 120 may be in a better position to notify agents whoare geographically nearby a client regarding client-agent engagements.

Communication between agent devices 140 a and 140 b and the messagingsystem 120 may be established using various methods known to thoseskilled in the art. However, with respect to setting up client-agentengagements in a timely fashion, it may be desirable to establish a lowlatency communication link with geographically dispersed agent devices140 a and 140 b. In some embodiments, communication channels establishedusing WebSocket (“WS”) communication over a standard TCP/IP connectionmay be preferable. The WS protocol, which is defined within the HTMLSspecification, may be used to provide a full-duplex, bi-directionalcommunication channel over a conventional HTTP connection via an upgradeprotocol between an HTMLS-compliant application (i.e. software client)and an HTMLS-compliant server. To enhance security, the WS communicationchannel may be encrypted using methods known to those skilled in theart.

Once a WS channel is established, data frames (text or binary) may besent back and forth between the application and server in full-duplexmode. As such, in some embodiments, for example, location data may bestreamed continuously from agent device N 140 b to messaging system 120using a first WS channel and other types of data may be transmittedbetween the messaging system 120 and agent device N 140 b using a secondWS channel.

Client device N 160 b may be used by a client to interact with theinsurance broker via the messaging system 120. Similar to the agentdevice N 140 b, client device N 160 b may also be any computing devicecapable of network communication. For example, a client may be using hisor her smart phone, tablet or personal computer to perform research withrespect to a particular type of insurance product. The research mayinvolve a query of one or more Internet search engines provided bycompanies such as Google™, Yahoo! ™ or Microsoft™. The search resultsmay include a link directing the client to a webpage operated by thebroker designed to provide information related to insurance products andservices offered by that broker. In some cases, the webpage may belinked to the application server 124 or CRM 126 and includes a userinput form to collect information from the client to assist the clientwith choosing a suitable product. In other cases, the webpage mayprovide a phone number for the client to call a call centerrepresentative who may provide information to the client and set up anappointment with a more knowledgeable insurance agent for a face-to-facemeeting (e.g. an engagement). In other cases, the webpage interface mayprovide an interface for the client to set up an appointment with aninsurance agent on a self-directed basis. In yet other cases, the callcenter agent may be able to facilitate voice communication directlybetween a client and an available agent through the agent's devicethrough the messaging system 120.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, shown therein is a block diagram 200 of anexemplary embodiment illustrating the data flow between systemcomponents of the messaging system 120 of FIG. 1, comprising theapplication server 230, data server 250 and CRM 270, and an agent device210. Specifically, the block diagram 200 of FIG. 2 shows the flow ofdata between the application server 230 and the agent device 210, dataserver 250 and the CRM 270 to facilitate establishment of agent-clientengagements that will be described in further detail below.

In the present embodiment, the application server 230 may be configuredto process all data received from the agent device 210 and CRM 270. Forexample, the data that is processed may include authentication andlocation data provided by the agent device 210 and data relating to aclient collected by the CRM 270. The application server 230 may furtherbe configured to communicate leads regarding potential engagements tothe appropriate agents. Specifically the application server 230 may beused to execute the decision making or business logic needed toestablish an engagement. The specific components of the agent device210, application server 230, data server 250 and CRM 270 will bedescribed in further detail below.

The agent device 210 may be representative of an agent's mobile device.As described above, the agent device 210 may be, without limitation, apersonal data assistant, cellular telephone, smart-phone device, tabletcomputer, and/or Wireless device. The agent device 210 may operate aknown device operating system or platform such as Android™, Windows™Phone, or iOS™ to execute mobile application 210 a to enablecommunication with the application server 230 and to provide the mobileapplication 210 a access to hardware resources (not shown) via thedriver factory 216.

The mobile application 210 a may determine the location of the agentdevice 210 with the GPS listener 212. The GPS listener 212 may haveaccess to the position detection hardware (not shown) of the mobiledevice 210 to obtain location and other physical data that maysubsequently be transmitted to the application server 230 usingtransmitter 214. It would be appreciated that the transmitter 214 may bea software module of the mobile application 210 a, which makes use ofthe agent device's hardware resources to establish a WS link tocommunicate with the application server 230. In some embodiments, thetransmitter 214 may make use of a dedicated WS link to transmit positioninformation to the application server.

The mobile application 210 a may further provide a user interface 220for displaying information received from the application server 230 andreceiving user input. For example, location or map data concerning thelocation of an engagement may be received via a WS channel by the mapsocket listener 218 and rendered on the user interface 220. Otherinformation not related to mapping data may be received via another WSchannel by the dedicated socket listener 224 and similarly presented onthe user interface. The user action handler 222 may be used to receiveuser input from the user interface 220. For example, as shown in FIG.2B, when an agent authenticates with the application server 230, thelogin information of the agent may be requested by the mobileapplication 210 a by presenting, on the user interface 220, a logininput field 220 a and a password input field 220 b. The user actionhandler 222 may process the login and password information and providethat information to the application server 230 for authentication upondetermining that a submission button 220 c (e.g. labeled “SIGN IN”)rendered on the user interface 220 has been pressed. Once the agent haslogged in, the application server 230 may then consider that agent anactive agent, and the associated the agent device 210 as an active agentdevice.

The application server 230 in the present embodiment may be used toprovide the decision-making functions of the messaging system 120 forestablishing client-agent engagements. The application server softwaremay be implemented on any appropriate server environment such as, butnot limited to, Microsoft Windows Server™ or any variant of the Linux™operating system such as Ubuntu™, FreeBSD™ and CentOS™. In someembodiments, the mobile application 210 a may communicate only with theapplication server 230 via established WS channels. As such the mobileapplication 210 a may not have direct access to the data server 250. Itmay be understood that in such an arrangement, the application server230 may obtain any data requested by the mobile application 210 a fromthe data server 250 on behalf of the mobile application 210 a. In somecases however, the mobile application 210 a may have direct access tothe data server 250 such that the application server 230 is not neededto retrieve data on the mobile application's 210 a behalf.

In some embodiments, the application server 230 may receive locationdata streams by the map socket listener 234. The location data may betransmitted by the transmitter 214 of the mobile application 201 athrough a dedicated WS channel designated as the map socket 232. Thelocation data streams received may comprise location data correspondingto the physical location of the agent device 210 gathered by the GPSlistener 212. In some cases, the location data stream may also includetime stamps that accompany the location data. The frequency of locationdata transmission may be a fixed time interval (e.g. every 60 seconds)or at the discretion of the mobile application 201 a. For example, ifthe mobile application 201 a detects that the agent device 210 is inmotion (i.e. the agent is driving his or her car) the rate of datatransfer may be increased. In some embodiments if it is determined thatthe agent device is in motion at a rate corresponding to a drivingspeeds (e.g. where the speed is greater than 20 km/h) the frequency oftransmission of location data may be increased to once every 5 seconds.Where it is determined that the agent device is in motion but the speedof motion corresponds to walking speeds (e.g. where the speed is around5 km/h) the frequency of transmission of location data may be increasedto once every 15 seconds. Where it is determined that the agent deviceis experiencing little to no movement, the frequency of transmission oflocation data may be increased to once every 60 seconds. In some otherembodiments, detection of motion may be accomplished by determining themode of communication being used by the agent device. For example whereit is determined that the device has switched from long-range wirelesscommunication (e.g. cellular, 3G, LTE and the like) to short rangecommunication (e.g. Wi-Fi communication), the mobile application 210 amay trigger an update of the location data. It may therefore beappreciated that modification of the frequency of transmission has anumber of benefits, in particular, more efficient use of the agentdevice's battery and system resources (e.g. processing, memory etc.),reduced congestion of the communication network 150, and reducedprocessing burden on the application server 230 (i.e. the server mayhave fewer activities).

In another example, the frequency of location data transmission may bedecreased if the mobile application 210 a detects that the battery ofthe agent device 210 is below a set threshold. In some cases, thefrequency of location data transmission may be negotiated at the timethe agent authenticates with the application server 230. The locationdata of the agent device 210 may be sent to the data server 250 by themap socket listener 234 for storage. In some embodiments, the mostrecent location data received by the application server 230 (and storedin data server 250) may be designated as “current” for a specifiedamount of time (e.g. 90 minutes) so that an agent may still be notifiedof possible engagements nearby even if he or she appears offline. Forexample the agent device 210 is temporarily disconnected from theapplication server 230, which may be the case if the agent device 210 isunderground or in an area with weak or no mobile network connectivity.

The map socket 232 may further be used to transmit mapping data producedby the data analyzer 236 to the mobile application 210 a. For example,when a particular agent is selected to attend an engagement, asdescribed in more detail below, the data related to the location of theface-to-face engagement may be sent by the data analyzer 236 via the mapsocket 232 of the application server 230 to the map socket listener 218of the mobile application 210 a. The mapping data may subsequently berendered by the user interface 220 for display to the agent.

In some embodiments, application server 230 may also communicate withthe agent device 210 through another dedicated WS channel designated asthe factory socket 238. Specifically, the factory socket 238 may be usedto send and receive data that is unrelated to mapping or location data.For example, in some cases, user inputs obtained from the user actionhandler 222 of the mobile application 210 a may be transmitted by theuser action handler 222 to the factory socket listener 240 via factorysocket 238. Data to be provided to the mobile application 210 a may besent by the personal data manager 242 via the factory socket 238 to thededicated socket listener 224 of the mobile application 210 a. In someembodiments, the data obtained by the personal data manager 242 may beobtained from the data server 250 through the application server datasocket listener 244.

It may be understood that while FIG. 2 illustrates one map socket andone factory socket, the number of sockets established by the applicationserver 230 may increase with the number of active agent devices 210 incommunication with the application server 230. For example the number oflocation data streams increases with more active agent devices 210 sothat more instances of map sockets may be needed. Similarly, moreinstances of factory sockets may be required to transmit data that isunrelated to location data.

The data server 250 may be used to maintain and store all theinformation needed to operate the messaging system 120. In someembodiments, the data server 250 may be used to store data related toclients (e.g. leads indicating the type of insurance product desired,their location, profile information), engagements, records of priorinteractions (e.g. calls and engagements), location data received fromthe agent devices, and agent or user login information.

In the present embodiment, the data server 250 may be in communicationwith the application server through dedicated WS channels. It may beappreciated that the use of WS channels to provide rapid and low-latencysocket connections may reduce operational time related torequesting/receiving information such as business or client information.Location data originating from agent device 210 may be received from theapplication server 230 by the miner socket listener 254 through the dataminer socket 252. The location data may be processed by the map tracecollector 256 so that the data may be saved into the database managerand database 262. In the present embodiment, the data may be “mined” orprocessed to calculate distances between a client and an agent, as wellas to determine the movement patterns of agents for the purpose ofselecting an agent to participate in an engagement, the selectionprocess being described in further detail below.

Data unrelated to location data may be received from the applicationserver 230 and processed by the data server data socket listener 260 viathe data server data socket 258 and saved to the database manager anddatabase 262. Data to be transmitted to the application server 230 maybe sent by the database manager and database 262 through the data serverdata socket 258. For example, the application server 230 may provide thedata server 250 with a read request to retrieve information related toan upcoming engagement and distribute this data to the agent chosen toparticipate in that engagement. Data for the engagement, for example,may be provided to the application server 230 via the data server datasocket 258.

It would be understood that the data server 250 may be implemented inany manner known to those skilled in the art. For example, in someembodiments, the data server 250 may be a component of the applicationserver residing in the same physical computer server such that directaccess to the data server 250 may be possible. In other embodiments thedata server 250 may operate as a dedicated server within the same datacenter as the application server 230. In some other embodiments, thedata server 250 may operate remotely from the application server 230 sothat the application server 230 may be required to operate anapplication module to permit the data stored on the data server 250 toappear as a local network resource. In yet other embodiments, the dataserver may be implemented using cloud storage technologies in whichaccess to the stored data may be facilitated via calls to an ApplicationProgramming Interface (API) specific for the cloud storage resource.

The customer relationship manager or CRM 270 may be used for trackingclient interactions by the insurance broker and for performing taskssuch as data collection related to existing and potential clients,client data analysis and analytics, report generation and generation ofpotential leads for engagements. The CRM 270 may be operated with theapplication server 230 to provide a system to automate sales, marketingand customer support. For example, in the present embodiment, clientinformation collected through the CRM may be processed by the clientdata manager 272 to generate client data 274 in accordance to proceduresdefined in the business workflow 278 and passed onto the applicationserver 230 via the app data updater 276. The CRM may also provide orpush information corresponding to possible leads for potentialengagements to the application server 230 for dissemination to the agentdevices 210.

Communication between the CRM 270 and the application server 230 may beestablished using WS channels for bidirectional and low-latencyconnections in a manner as described above. For example, in the presentembodiment, the app data updater 276 may transmit client data to theapplication server 230 through the application server data socketlistener 244. The CRM 270 may retrieve data stored in the data server250 for processing or presentation via the application server 230. Forexample, the app data updater 276 may issue a data request to theapplication server 230, the request may be received by the personal datamanager 242 (via the application server data socket listener 244) whichinstructs the database manager and database 262 (via the data serverdata socket 258 and data server data socket listener 260) to provide therequested data to the CRM 270, received by the data socket listener 272via the data server data socket 258.

The CRM 270 may provide a number of interfaces specific to differentclasses of users for the collection of client information. For example,the CRM 270 may provide a call center interface which allows call centeragents to enter client information as the call center agent speaks to aclient on the phone. Such an interface may be configured for internaluse, and may be accessible within the insurance broker's call center viainternal network access. In some cases, the call center interface of CRM270 may be provided using a web-accessible interface such that anycompatible web-browser may be used to access the CRM. In other cases,the CRM interface may be application-based which uses a specificexecutable program to access the CRM 270. However, regardless of themethod in which the CRM 270 may be accessed by the call center agent, itmay be understood that leads for potential engagements may be generatedbased on the information entered into the CRM 270 by the call centeragents during a call with a client. For example, the lead informationmay be generated and sent to nearby agents (i.e. as a notification oralert) as soon as sufficient information is collected by the call centeragent (e.g. the client's location or address), even while a call centeragent is still on the phone with the client.

The CRM 270 may also provide an external interface such as a publiclyaccessible web landing page or a homepage with content related toinsurance products. For example, a consumer searching for insuranceproducts may land on the landing page provided by the CRM 270. In someembodiments, the publicly accessible webpage may be linked to the CRMthrough a secure communication channel to ensure data exchanged betweenthe visitor and the CRM is secure. The CRM 270 may also feature a quoteestimator function to allow a visitor to determine the possible premiumsfor a particular type of insurance coverage based on informationprovided by the visitor (now a potential client). As such, the publicinterface of the CRM 270 may be configured to accept client inputthrough an input form. The input form may include requests forinformation such as gender, age, known current medical conditions andcurrent medications. In some instances, the input form may further askthe client for their contact information so that a call centerrepresentative may follow up with their query. In yet other instances,as will be described in more detail below, the visitor may set up anappointment on a self-directed basis with an agent to further discussinsurance options in a face-to-face meeting.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart 300 of an exemplary embodiment illustrating themethod steps that may be performed to establish a client-agentengagement. To illustrate the example method, reference will be madesimultaneously to FIG. 2, which illustrates data flows between thevarious system components, and FIGS. 4A-4E, which illustrate exampleinterfaces presented to an agent via the agent device 210. In someembodiments, the process shown in flowchart 300 may be performed by theapplication server 230. In other embodiments, different systemcomponents may operate cooperatively with each other to executedifferent steps of the flow chart 300 to complete the overall task.

At step 310, information regarding a client, including addressinformation, may be collected. As discussed above, the client may be incontact with the insurance broker in a number of ways. For example, theclient may call the broker's call center to speak with a call centeragent. In other cases, the call center agent may initiate a follow upcall having received contact information via the front facing portion ofthe CRM 270, for example, via an input form for requesting insurancequotes. In yet other cases, the information may be collected directly bythe CRM 270 via an online form without involving the call center callcenter.

The information collected may include the client's age, gender, the typeof insurance the client is looking for as well as their addressinformation. The collected information may then be used to generateleads upon which engagements between an insurance agent and the clientcan be arranged. Specifically, in the present embodiment, havingobtained the address information and the insurance product of interest,the CRM 270 may provide this lead information to the application server230 for further processing.

At step 315, the application server 230 may generate a lead notificationmessage based on the client information received from the CRM 270. Inparticular, a lead notification message may be generated fordistribution as soon as the location of the client is determined andprovided to the application server 230. However, it may be understoodthat, in some cases, the CRM 270 may also be capable of generating thelead notification message itself. In the latter arrangement, the leadnotification message, rather than the lead information is provided tothe application server 230 for distribution.

At step 320 when the lead notification message is ready to bedistributed, the application server 230 may proceed to determine one ormore active agent devices (i.e. an agent who may be available toparticipate in an engagement) near the location of the client. Nearbyagents may be determined based on the location information transmittedby their associated agent devices to the application server 230.

Whether an active agent device is considered “nearby” may be determinedbased on the location data collected from that active agent's device bythe application server 230. As described above, each active agent devicetransmits a location data stream via a WS channel to the data server 230so that the location data may be used to identify the proximity betweenthe active agent and the client. The insurance broker may definedistances separating an agent and a client that may be considered a“nearby”. For example, distances may relate to travel time or actualdistance. In some cases, proximity may be defined using shapes. Forexample, a square in which the location of the client is the square'scenter may be defined so that active agents whose current locationfalling within the square may be considered a nearby agent. The size ofthe square may be varied depending on the location of the client. Forexample, a smaller square may be defined in densely populated or urbanareas, while a larger square may be used for less populated or ruralareas. In other cases the area considered may be defined by other shapesthat may be more preferable such as a circle or rectangle.

As discussed previously, the current locations of the active agents maybe retained in the data server 250 for a defined period of time (e.g.for 90 minutes) before it is no longer regarded as “current”. Therefore,in some cases, even if the active agent has physically moved beyond thedesignated area (i.e. the square discussed above) but has not providedthe application server 230 with its new location, that agent may stillbe regarded as a nearby agent.

At step 325, having identified one or more nearby agents, leadnotification messages may be distributed to these nearby agents. Thelead notification message may include a unique recipient identifier,information corresponding to the type of insurance the client is lookingfor and the approximate distance. It may be preferable to distribute thelead notification messages to the nearby agents in a manner that each ofthe nearby agents can receive their notification message concurrently oras close to concurrent reception (i.e. all of the recipients receivingthe notifications at substantially the same time, with minimal delaybetween each recipients receiving their respective notification) aspossible. Concurrent reception may be used to distribute leadnotification messages in a manner that no specific recipient would havean advantage over another recipient with respect to receiving lead data.It may be appreciated that achieving concurrent reception may helpimprove sales and customer satisfaction. For example, the recipients ofthe notifications may be high-performing as well as average- orlow-performing agents. If a less experienced or low-performing agent isnotified first and responds first, that agent may end up being selectedto participate in an engagement over a more experienced orhigher-performing agent because there was a delay in the latter agentreceiving a notification. The likelihood of a successful sale may bereduced as a result of the low-performing agent's experience level.

In some embodiments, the application server 230 may execute or spawnmultiple system processes for the purpose of generating and distributinglead notification messages to facilitate concurrent reception. Forexample, the number of processes spawned may be equal to the number ofnearby agents set to receive the lead notification messages. In doingso, each process may be responsible for distributing one leadnotification message to minimize processing delays. In some embodiments,the distribution of lead notification messages may utilize a dedicatedlead notification distribution system (not shown) to distribute the leadnotification messages. This dedicated system may be optimized tocommunicate with the agent devices in a way that maximizes thelikelihood of concurrent reception. For example, the dedicated leadnotification system may be operated by a third party provider withcapabilities and infrastructure to facilitate cross-platform (e.g. iOSand Android) concurrent delivery.

The application server 230 may spawn processes to generate the leadnotification and access the lead notification system. The methods ofaccess may be implemented using methods known to those skilled in theart, such as using web-based API calls to schedule the notifications.Therefore, in the current example, each process launched by theapplication server 230 may execute an API call to the lead notificationsystem. The notifications transferred to the lead notificationdistribution system may be forwarded to the nearby agent devices basedon the unique recipient identifier. In other embodiments, a dedicatedlead notification system may not be used. For example the messagedistribution process may make use of an existing WS channel establishedbetween a given agent device 210 and the application server 230 todistribute the notification. In other embodiments, the process may sendthe lead notification using a new WS channel.

On the active agent's device, the notification may be displayed on theuser interface 220 of the agent device 210. For example, as shown inFIG. 4A, the lead notification may appear on the agent's screenindicating the type of insurance a client is looking for as well as theestimated travel time to the client for an engagement. Depending on thelocation of an agent, that agent may be considered a nearby agent for anumber of possible engagements (i.e. that agent falls within several ofthe squares described above). As such, an agent may receive multiplelead notifications as shown in FIG. 4A. Also shown in FIG. 4A is thatthe notification may be expanded, by tapping on the “+” symbol 410 onthe right side of the lead notification. FIG. 4B shows an expanded leadnotification, which provides additional information such as the actualdistance to the client's location.

At step 330, the application server 230 may receive a responsecorresponding to an input by the agent which indicates whether or notthe active agent who received the lead notification message is availableto participate in an engagement. The agent may respond to the leadnotification message by tapping on an input button (not shown) presentedon the user interface 220 of the mobile application 210 a to indicatethat the agent is available to sell the particular insurance productlisted in the lead notification message. Tapping the input button may beconsidered a “vote” from the active agent indicating to the applicationserver 230 that the active agent wishes to be considered for theengagement. Upon tapping on the input button on the user interface 220of the agent device 210 to vote, the user action handler 222 may processthe action and transmit the response to the personal data manager 242 ofthe application server 230 via the factory socket 238. In circumstanceswhere an active agent is presented with multiple lead notifications,that agent may submit a vote for more than one lead notification.

In some embodiments, the lead notification may remain open for votes andsubsequently close (i.e. no longer accept responses) when an engagementhas been confirmed with the client. An engagement may be confirmedduring an interaction between a call center agent and a client if, forinstance, the call center agent informs the client that agents areavailable to meet the client within the next 60 minutes and the clientagrees to meet an agent for further discussion. The call center agentmay then confirm the time of the engagement upon which time the lead mayclose.

At step 335 confirmation of the engagement may cause the leadnotification to close, so that the application server 230 may stopaccepting votes for that lead. If an agent did not respond to the leadnotification by the time the lead closes, then that particular agent maybe deemed not to have voted. In some embodiments, the lead notificationmay indicate a time limit for providing a response (not shown). If thetime to respond has lapsed and the agent did not respond, then thatagent may similarly be deemed not to have voted.

At step 340, when an engagement is confirmed, a notification to confirmthe nearby agents' availability may be sent by the application server230 to all the nearby agents that have previously voted for the lead.The nearby agents that voted may be presented with another input buttonsuch as an “Accept” button 430 or a “Decline” button (not shown) on theuser interface 220 as shown in FIG. 4B. Clicking or tapping the “Accept”button may be used to indicate to the application server 230 the agentis ready and willing to participate in the engagement if selected to go.Clicking or tapping on the “Decline” button may be used to indicate tothe application server that the agent is no longer available for theengagement. The input may be received by the user action handler 222which then transmits the response to the personal data manager 242 ofthe application server 230 via the factory socket 238. Upon the agentconfirming a lead notification (pressing the “Accept” button 430), theuser interface 220 of the mobile application 210 a may be updated toindicate to the agent to wait for a confirmation, if any, that the agenthas been selected to meet with the client as shown in FIG. 4C. Acheckmark 420 may be displayed next to the lead notification to indicatethat the lead has been accepted (i.e. available to take the lead), forexample, as shown in FIG. 4A. In some embodiments, a time limit may beimposed for which an agent may “Accept” or “Decline” their availability.For example if an agent fails to respond, the application server 230 maydeem that agent to have selected “Decline”.

As discussed above, the application server 230 may use the confirmationsprovided by the nearby agents as an indication that the agent is ready,available and committed to attend the engagement if one of those agentswere selected to meet with the client. As such no further input toconfirm may be required. Accordingly, an agent may only be permitted toconfirm availability for one lead at a time, unlike the agent's abilityto vote for multiple leads. In other words, once an agent has confirmedhis or her availability for a particular lead, the “Accept” buttonscorresponding to other leads may be disabled by the user interface 220of the mobile application 210 a until an agent has been selected forthat lead.

At step 345, a nearby active agent that may be selected to attend theengagement and meet with the client. With respect to the method ofselection, the procedure or process may be set by the insurance brokerusing any desirable selection criteria. For example, each agent may begiven a score based on various factors including, but not limited to,feedback from clients on past engagements, the success rate of the agentin securing a sale and expertise in the type of insurance being sold. Aranking of active agents may be produced from which the highest rankedagent may be selected.

At step 350, a nearby active agent may be selected to attend theengagement. Subsequently, a notification specifically for the selectedagent may be provided as shown in FIG. 4D, the notification containingdetails of the engagement, including the time and location. The agentsnot selected may also be provided a notification indicating that theywere not selected for the engagement and may resume voting or confirmingtheir availability for other potential engagements. Data related to theconfirmed engagement such as the time and location may be saved to aconfirmed engagement list on the data server 250. The confirmedengagement list may also record various parameters related to theengagement for later analysis. For example, for each appointment,information regarding the agent's travel time, duration of theengagement, the agent's arrival time (i.e. whether he/she was late orearly), and whether the engagement was an “instant” engagement (e.g. anengagement set up between a client an available agent) or a scheduledengagement (e.g. the client may have a specific agent in mind and hasscheduled an engagement ahead of time).

In some embodiments, the application server 230 may request the selectedagent to acknowledge that they have been selected prior to receivingdetails regarding the engagement (i.e. prior to method step 350 beingperformed). This may be useful in situations where the agent waspreviously within the defined area deemed nearby the client but hassince travelled outside of that defined area. The notificationrequesting acknowledgement may have a time limit imposed such that uponexpiration of that time limit, a second agent in the list of agents thathave voted may be selected and notified instead. If the second agentacknowledges being selected, then step 350 may be performed.

As shown in FIGS. 4D and 4E, the notification sent to the selected agentmay also include mapping data that the agent may access by interactingwith the user interface 220. The mapping data may be used to plot on amap on the user interface 220 of the agent device 210 to indicate thelocation of the confirmed engagement including the exact addressdisplayed in a text box 440, as shown in FIG. 4E. In some embodiments,the mobile application 210 a may be configured to access externalinformation resources for providing enhanced features such as drivingdirections and traffic data.

Referring now to FIG. 5, shown therein is a flowchart 500 thatillustrates a variation of the process described in FIG. 3. In thepresent variation, the selected agent may elect to speak with the clientdirectly via mobile application 210 a. Flowchart 500 may be viewed as acontinuation of flowchart 300 since method step 510 may be consideredthe same or substantially similar to method step 350 of flowchart 300 ofFIG. 3. This variation may be useful since direct communication with theclient may result in a better client-agent relationship being formedprior to the engagement and would allow the client, if desired, to alterthe meeting location to a location that is different from the locationinformation collected by the call center agent. Furthermore, the callcenter may operate more efficiently since the call center agent mayattend to other potential clients waiting to be assisted.

At step 510, similar to step 350 as shown in FIG. 3, a notificationspecifically for the selected agent may be provided as shown in FIG. 4D.The agents that were not selected may also be provided a notificationindicating that they were not selected for the engagement and may resumevoting or confirming their availability for other potential engagements.Data related to the confirmed engagement such as the time and locationmay be saved to a confirmed engagement list on the data server 230.

At decision step 515, the selected agent may choose to speak with theclient through the mobile application 210 a. The user interface 220 mayprovide the appropriate inputs allowing the agent to submit a callrequest to the application server 230 to indicate that a call isdesired. If the selected agent does not choose to speak with the client,the process ends. The selected agent may proceed to the engagement basedon the engagement information provided by the application server 230.

If the selected agent elects to call, the application server 230 mayreceive the call request at the factory socket listener 240 through thefactory socket 238. The request may then be forwarded to the CRM 270 andprocessed by the client data manager 270. The call center agent may benotified of the call request who may in turn advise the client of thecall and connect the selected agent with the client. The applicationserver 230 may reroute the client's voice connection from the callcenter to the selected agent's mobile application 210 a. In other words,the interaction is handed off from the call center agent to the selectedagent. The remainder of the interaction may bypass the call center.

At step 520, a voice communication channel may be established betweenthe agent and the call center. Voice data may be transmitted usingtechnologies known to those in the art. For example, the applicationserver 230 and mobile application 210 a may be configured to make use ofvoice over IP (VoIP) technologies to transmit voice data. For example,the mobile application 210 a may be compiled with an HTMLS soft phoneframework to access one or more Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunkconnections provided by the application server 230.

At step 525, the call center agent may notify the client on the call toadvise the client that the call would be handed off to the agentselected for the engagement. The handoff may be coordinated by the VoIPsoftware integrated into the CRM and application server 230 so that thecall between the client and the selected agent may be routed through theapplication server 230.

At step 530, the call may be archived by the application server 230 forrecord keeping. While it may be understood that voice calls may behandled using other manners such as using standard telephone connectionsrouted through a traditional telecom provider, it may be preferable toroute the call through the application server 230. As noted above, uponthe agent engaging in the call, the call center is no longer involved inthe interaction. By routing the call through the application server, arecord of the call and the interaction may be maintained. In some cases,the conversation may be recorded and a text transcript may be generatedfor quality assurance.

In some embodiments, the client may be able to set up an engagementwithout the assistance of a call center agent. This process may bereferred to as “self-directed” engagement or appointment setting. Inother words, the call center may be excluded completely from theinteraction. FIG. 7 shows a flow chart 700 that illustrates the stepsthat may be taken to establish an engagement by a client on aself-directed basis.

Setting up an engagement may be accomplished, for example, where theclient is able to interact with the CRM 270 directly. As describedabove, the CRM 270 also may provide a public interface such as apublicly accessible web landing page or a homepage with content relatedto insurance products. The landing page may be accessible by anyone withaccess to the Internet using different types of devices such as mobilephones, desktop computers, laptop computers and the like. Thispublic-facing interface may further be structured to accept input from awebsite visitor (i.e. client) so as to collect information needed togenerate a lead. In other words, the online property may be used insteadof operating a call center.

At step 710 a client visiting the landing page may enter informationinto an online form including address or location information. Forexample, a landing page website may be structured to provide a quoteestimator to allow a client to estimate the insurance premium for aparticular type of insurance product.

As shown in FIG. 6, the interface may include a drop-down selector 620to enable the client to select the type of insurance coverage desired.An input field 640 may be provided to allow the client to input theirpostal code to indicate their area of residence, since insurancepremiums may vary depending on location. By clicking or tapping on the“Get a Quote” button 640, the two pieces of information (type ofinsurance and location information), may be submitted and processed, forexample, by the CRM 270. At this point, sufficient information may becollected to generate a lead notification message for distribution tonearby active agents in accordance with step 715. At step 720, nearbyactive agents may be identified in a manner similar to step 320 offlowchart 300 of FIG. 3 and the lead notifications may be distributed ina manner similar to step 325 of flowchart 300 of FIG. 3. Responsesconfirming the availability of nearby agents may be received by theapplication server 230 at method step 725 in a manner similar to step330 of flowchart 300 of FIG. 3. Upon receiving agent responses, theapplication server 230 may indicate to the CRM 270 that agents areavailable for an engagement with the client. In response, the CRM 270may alter the presentation of the landing page to indicate to the clientthat agents are available for a face-to-face engagement.

At method step 730, the web page interface may further be altered toprovide one or more engagement times that may be selected by the client.At method step 735, an engagement may be confirmed with the client ifthe client selects an available time slot. Similar to method steps 340,345 and 350 of flowchart 300 of FIG. 3, at method steps 740, 745 and750, the availability of the nearby agents may be confirmed, an agentmay be selected for the engagement, and the notifications may bedistributed regarding the results of the selection process,respectively.

In some embodiments, features described in flowchart 500 of FIG. 5 maysimilarly be integrated in the self-directed engagement settingscenario. For example, upon an agent being selected for the engagement,the selected agent may elect to communicate directly with the client.Under this scenario, the client's user interface may be updated by theCRM 270 to indicate to the client whether the client wishes to speakdirectly with the agent selected for the engagement, prior to meeting inperson. If the client agrees to speak with the selected agent, theclient may be asked by the CRM 270 to input their telephone number (ifnot already available) and a phone call may be established. As describedpreviously, this call may be routed through the application server 230so that a record of the interaction may be made and a text transcriptmay be generated for quality assurance.

Numerous specific details are set forth herein in order to provide athorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments described herein.However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the artthat these embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components havenot been described in detail so as not to obscure the description of theembodiments. Furthermore, this description is not to be considered aslimiting the scope of these embodiments in any way, but rather as merelydescribing the implementation of these various embodiments.

1.-18. (canceled)
 19. A method of selecting an active user for anengagement, the method comprising: receiving engagement information inrespect of the engagement, the engagement information comprising anengagement location; receiving, via a first data communication link, alocation data of one or more active mobile devices indicating a locationof the respective active mobile device; identifying a set of nearbyactive mobile devices based on the location data of each active mobiledevice and the engagement location, the set of nearby active mobiledevices comprising one or more active mobile device associated with alocation within a predefined distance to the engagement location;transmitting an engagement notification to the identified set of nearbyactive mobile devices; receiving, via a second data communication link,an engagement confirmation response accepting the engagement from atleast one nearby active mobile device of the set of nearby active mobiledevices; in response to receiving the engagement confirmation responsefrom two or more nearby active mobile devices, selecting the active userto participate in the engagement, the active user being a userassociated with a nearby active mobile device of the two or more nearbyactive mobile devices; and generating an engagement confirmationnotification to notify the set of nearby active mobile devices that theactive user was selected.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein selectingthe active user to participate in the engagement comprises evaluating aperformance metric associated with each active user associated with thetwo or more nearby active mobile devices.
 21. The method of claim 19,further comprising: transmitting the engagement confirmationnotification to the nearby active mobile device, the engagementconfirmation notification comprising at least a portion of theengagement information.
 22. The method of claim 19, wherein generatingthe engagement confirmation notification comprises: generating anengagement assigned notification indicating that the engagement has beenassigned to another active user; and transmitting the engagementassigned notification to the nearby active mobile devices thattransmitted the engagement confirmation response via the second datacommunication link other than the nearby active mobile device associatedwith the selected active user.
 23. The method of claim 09, whereinidentifying the set of nearby active mobile devices comprises, for eachactive mobile device: detecting a recent location of that active mobiledevice, wherein the location data comprises the location of that activemobile device at a predefined time interval; and comparing the recentlocation of that active mobile device with the engagement location todetermine whether that active mobile device is within the predefineddistance to the engagement location.
 24. The method of claim 09, whereinthe second data communication link transmits data independently of thefirst data communication link.
 25. The method of claim 19, wherein datacan be transmitted via the second data communication link at the sametime as the first data communication link.
 26. The method of claim 19,wherein generating the engagement confirmation notification comprises:providing an engagement appointment interface to the nearby activemobile device for receiving an engagement time for the engagement. 27.The method of claim 19, further comprising: receiving an input from thenearby active mobile device via the second data communication linkrequesting an initial communication prior to the engagement; andestablishing a third data communication link for the initialcommunication.
 28. The method of claim 19 wherein receiving the locationdata of the one or more active mobile devices via the first datacommunication link comprises: continuously receiving an updated locationdata at a data transmission frequency determined based on a motiondetected at each of the one or more active mobile devices.
 29. A systemfor selecting an active user for an engagement, the system comprising: acommunication interface comprising a first and a second datacommunication link; a non-transitory memory; a computer processorconfigured to execute instructions stored on the non-transitory memoryto: receive, at the communication interface, engagement information inrespect of the engagement, the engagement information comprising anengagement location; receive, via the first data communication link, alocation data of one or more active mobile devices indicating a locationof the respective active mobile device; identify a set of nearby activemobile devices based on the location data of each active mobile deviceand the engagement location, the set of nearby active mobile devicescomprising one or more active mobile device associated with a locationwithin a predefined distance to the engagement location; transmit anengagement notification to the identified set of nearby active mobiledevices; receive, via the second communication link, an engagementconfirmation response accepting the engagement from at least one nearbyactive mobile device of the set of nearby active mobile devices; inresponse to receiving the engagement confirmation response from two ormore nearby active mobile devices, select the active user to participatein the engagement, the active user being a user associated with a nearbyactive mobile device of the two or more nearby active mobile devices;and generate an engagement confirmation notification to notify the setof nearby active mobile devices that the active user was selected. 30.The system of claim 28, wherein the computer processor is configured toevaluate a performance metric associated with each active userassociated with the two or more nearby active mobile devices.
 31. Thesystem of claim 28, wherein the computer processor is configured to:transmit the engagement confirmation notification to the nearby activemobile device, the engagement confirmation notification comprising atleast a portion of the engagement information.
 32. The system of claim28, wherein the computer processor is configured to: generate anengagement assigned notification indicating that the engagement has beenassigned to another active user; and transmit the engagement assignednotification to the nearby active mobile devices that transmitted theengagement confirmation via the second data communication link otherthan the nearby active mobile device associated with the selected activeuser.
 33. The system of claim 28, wherein, for each active mobiledevice, the computer processor is configured to: detect a recentlocation of that active mobile device, wherein the location datacomprises the location of that active mobile device at a predefined timeinterval; and compare the recent location of that active mobile devicewith the engagement location to determine whether that active mobiledevice is within the predefined distance to the engagement location. 34.The system of claim 28, wherein the second data communication linktransmits data independently of the first data communication link. 35.The system of claim 28, wherein data can be transmitted via the seconddata communication link at the same time as the first data communicationlink.
 36. The system of claim 28, wherein the computer processor isconfigured to: provide an engagement appointment interface to the nearbyactive mobile device for receiving an engagement time for theengagement.
 37. The system of claim 28, wherein the computer processoris configured to: receive an input from the nearby active mobile devicevia the second data communication link requesting an initialcommunication prior to the engagement; and establish a third datacommunication link for the initial communication.
 38. The system ofclaim 28, wherein the computer processor is configured to: continuouslyreceive an updated location data at a data transmission frequencydetermined based on a motion detected at each of the one or more activemobile devices.